UMES opens new Patent and Trademark Resource Center
Patent Protection
MARYLAND – The Maryland Chamber of Commerce shows that there are almost 600,000 small business owners in the state, and more than 2,000 people own a patent. But there isn’t a resource center in the area to help those individuals succeed, or at least there wasn’t until now.
Whether you want to start a business or invent something new, on Delmarva, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore will be the place to protect your property. “Whatever you invent, whatever you create, that is yours, you want to make sure you protect it and you want to tell the world about it. Patent protection and innovative ideas, two things Robin Evans, Deputy Commissioner for Patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office says they can handle.
“We know there are a lot of creators, sometimes we call them garage tinkers, around that are creating beautiful things that are going to help our county economically, the growth building block, and we want to bring that potential out.
She says sometimes people may confused about what they can protect or how to expand their ideas. “Intellectual property includes trade secrets, includes patents, includes trademarks, and includes copyrights… So, you get a patent on an article, manufacture a process, we even have design patents.”
Before now, if you wanted to get help through a resource center, you’d have to travel to Philadelphia. Dr. Pamela Allison is the chair for Entrepreneurship and Program Innovation at UMES and says they were determined to change that. “It’s important to protect your ideas, to protect your logos, to protect anything you’ve created as part of your business… We are the resource center now for those who want to come in and protect their property. so that’s why it’s open to the community it is free of charge.”
She says these resources are free and open to the public and all you must do is seek the help. “They’re here to meet you where you are regardless of whatever step you need to take. whatever fear you have, they’re here to meet you where you are.” They say if you have a brain, you could have a business.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is the 5th HBCU that has a patent and trademark office in the United States. The Patent and Trademark Resource Center is currently open to help anyone during library hours.
